Published: Friday, February 15, 2013 at 9:04 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 15, 2013 at 9:04 p.m.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank said Friday that Spartanburg County is a model for how the country can reinvigorate its manufacturing sector, drive innovation and boost its global competitiveness.

Blank made a stop at BMW Manufacturing Co. and took a tour of the plant's X3 Sports Activity Vehicle assembly hall.

She said state and local officials realized two decades ago that the community, which relied heavily on textiles and agriculture, had to reinvent itself in order to survive and grow, and seized the opportunity to bring in the luxury automaker.

"You knew that you'd need to make some up-front investments in infrastructure, in research and in your workforce," Blank said. "And I'm sure that those decisions weren't easy to make. But today, with companies like BMW adding hundreds of jobs and exporting record numbers of American-made cars around the world, it's clear that your actions paid off."

Blank's visit to the Upstate reinforced President Barack Obama's economic and trade agenda, which he unveiled during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday and discussed Wednesday on a visit to Canadian automaker Linamar Corp.'s facility in Asheville, N.C.

The president focused on expanding opportunities for the middle class, growing jobs and expanding manufacturing. Blank stressed the importance of building "the right" infrastructure, improving highways, ports, and airports.

She said Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College and Tri-County Technical College are doing their part to provide a growing flow of skilled workers. Clemson University's $200 million International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville County is helping to support companies that want to stay on the cutting edge of new technology, she said.

Blank noted that nearly 500,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs have been added in the past three years.

"Many global manufacturers are now looking to come back to expand operations here or to start investing in the U.S. for the first time," Blank said. "We need to be ready to attract these investments. When a global CEO looks at an American community, we want them to know that all of the pieces are coming together to help them make it in America."

Blank touched on the president's proposed Fix-it-First program designed to address the nation's 70,000 structurally deficient bridges and mentioned a free trade agreement with Europe.

She said lawmakers in Washington D.C. have to do their part by reforming the country's tax code to encourage manufacturers to keep jobs here.

Another major part of the president's plan is to provide a tax credit for communities that were the hardest hit by job losses or layoffs due to manufacturers leaving, she said. The federal government will also work with local communities.

"For example, our Foreign Trade Zone Board helped BMW reduce costs for getting components from its supply chain while also incentivizing suppliers to relocate here," Blank said. "Communities across the country need to do the strategic planning and make the kind of investments and partnerships I've mentioned, just as Spartanburg did."

She said her department will soon play a more active role in attracting manufacturing investments. The first step will be to lead a team of federal agencies through the new Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership.

Obama has proposed $113 million to support communities that identify key projects. Commerce will select communities that have done effective planning, but need a little help to build the assets they need, Blank said.

"In short, we're looking for more cities—more Spartanburgs—that are ready, willing and able to reinvent themselves to compete globally," she said.

Blank said the president's plan includes $20 million for 100 new hires at SelectUSA, a federal program he launched in 2011 to bolster outreach to international companies.

She mentioned her department's pilot project last year for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation and the Defense Department, which created a regional hub in Youngstown, Ohio, for the development of 3D printing.

In his address on Tuesday, Obama called for Congress to spend $1 billion to fund up to 15 more of these hubs across the U.S. for NNMI, in partnership of the Department of Energy, could address strategic gaps in the country's innovation system.

Obama's opponents have criticized his calls for more spending.

Blank said the federal government can take all of the necessary steps to grow manufacturing while coming together with Congress to reduce the national deficit. That means increasing "revenues," or taxes, and making budget cuts.

"What we don't want to do is make across-the-board, devastating cuts to programs—known as the sequester," she said. "This would seriously hurt our ability to support manufacturers as they grow and hire."

S.C. Secretary of Commerce and former BMW executive Bobby Hitt said the state has a bright future in advanced materials research and manufacturing, and is focused on providing the infrastructure. He said the state should be a frontrunner for landing one of the NNMI hubs.

"We have keystone manufacturers here," Hitt said. "Why not here? We have all of the ingredients... We happen to be pretty good at building things here in South Carolina."

He said Blank's visit to the Upstate was an opportunity to showcase BMW's plant and get the word out about the high level of manufacturing in the area.

"I kid that manufacturing plants are sort of like Masonic temples," Hitt said. "There aren't a lot of doors or windows so it's hard to see what goes on inside... The key is getting our young people and their parents to see this."

Blank, 57, became acting deputy secretary of commerce in 2012, replacing John Bryson, who resigned for medical reasons.

The Missouri native is a key member of President Obama's economic team working to implement the administration's top economic priorities to accelerate growth and job creation. She is in charge of management, policy and strategic planning for the department's 12 bureaus.

Blank joined the department in 2009 after she was appointed as the principal economic adviser to the Secretary in the role of Under Secretary for Economic Affairs and head of the Economics and Statistics Administration.

In 2008, she served as a Robert S. Kerr senior fellow for the Brookings Institute. Blank was dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2007.

From 1997 to 1999, she was part of a three-member council of economic advisers for President Bill Clinton. The council helped provide insight on a number of economic, social and regulatory policy issues.

Blank graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a degree in economics and earned her doctorate degree in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

<p>U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank said Friday that Spartanburg County is a model for how the country can reinvigorate its manufacturing sector, drive innovation and boost its global competitiveness.</p><p>Blank made a stop at BMW Manufacturing Co. and took a tour of the plant's X3 Sports Activity Vehicle assembly hall.</p><p>She said state and local officials realized two decades ago that the community, which relied heavily on textiles and agriculture, had to reinvent itself in order to survive and grow, and seized the opportunity to bring in the luxury automaker.</p><p>"You knew that you'd need to make some up-front investments in infrastructure, in research and in your workforce," Blank said. "And I'm sure that those decisions weren't easy to make. But today, with companies like BMW adding hundreds of jobs and exporting record numbers of American-made cars around the world, it's clear that your actions paid off."</p><p>Blank's visit to the Upstate reinforced President Barack Obama's economic and trade agenda, which he unveiled during his State of the Union Address on Tuesday and discussed Wednesday on a visit to Canadian automaker Linamar Corp.'s facility in Asheville, N.C.</p><p>The president focused on expanding opportunities for the middle class, growing jobs and expanding manufacturing. Blank stressed the importance of building "the right" infrastructure, improving highways, ports, and airports.</p><p>She said Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College and Tri-County Technical College are doing their part to provide a growing flow of skilled workers. Clemson University's $200 million International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville County is helping to support companies that want to stay on the cutting edge of new technology, she said.</p><p>Blank noted that nearly 500,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs have been added in the past three years.</p><p>"Many global manufacturers are now looking to come back to expand operations here or to start investing in the U.S. for the first time," Blank said. "We need to be ready to attract these investments. When a global CEO looks at an American community, we want them to know that all of the pieces are coming together to help them make it in America."</p><p>Blank touched on the president's proposed Fix-it-First program designed to address the nation's 70,000 structurally deficient bridges and mentioned a free trade agreement with Europe. </p><p>She said lawmakers in Washington D.C. have to do their part by reforming the country's tax code to encourage manufacturers to keep jobs here. </p><p>Another major part of the president's plan is to provide a tax credit for communities that were the hardest hit by job losses or layoffs due to manufacturers leaving, she said. The federal government will also work with local communities.</p><p>"For example, our Foreign Trade Zone Board helped BMW reduce costs for getting components from its supply chain while also incentivizing suppliers to relocate here," Blank said. "Communities across the country need to do the strategic planning and make the kind of investments and partnerships I've mentioned, just as Spartanburg did."</p><p>She said her department will soon play a more active role in attracting manufacturing investments. The first step will be to lead a team of federal agencies through the new Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership.</p><p>Obama has proposed $113 million to support communities that identify key projects. Commerce will select communities that have done effective planning, but need a little help to build the assets they need, Blank said.</p><p>"In short, we're looking for more cities—more Spartanburgs—that are ready, willing and able to reinvent themselves to compete globally," she said.</p><p>Blank said the president's plan includes $20 million for 100 new hires at SelectUSA, a federal program he launched in 2011 to bolster outreach to international companies.</p><p>She mentioned her department's pilot project last year for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation and the Defense Department, which created a regional hub in Youngstown, Ohio, for the development of 3D printing.</p><p>In his address on Tuesday, Obama called for Congress to spend $1 billion to fund up to 15 more of these hubs across the U.S. for NNMI, in partnership of the Department of Energy, could address strategic gaps in the country's innovation system.</p><p>Obama's opponents have criticized his calls for more spending.</p><p>Blank said the federal government can take all of the necessary steps to grow manufacturing while coming together with Congress to reduce the national deficit. That means increasing "revenues," or taxes, and making budget cuts.</p><p>"What we don't want to do is make across-the-board, devastating cuts to programs—known as the sequester," she said. "This would seriously hurt our ability to support manufacturers as they grow and hire."</p><p>S.C. Secretary of Commerce and former BMW executive Bobby Hitt said the state has a bright future in advanced materials research and manufacturing, and is focused on providing the infrastructure. He said the state should be a frontrunner for landing one of the NNMI hubs.</p><p>"We have keystone manufacturers here," Hitt said. "Why not here? We have all of the ingredients... We happen to be pretty good at building things here in South Carolina."</p><p>He said Blank's visit to the Upstate was an opportunity to showcase BMW's plant and get the word out about the high level of manufacturing in the area.</p><p>"I kid that manufacturing plants are sort of like Masonic temples," Hitt said. "There aren't a lot of doors or windows so it's hard to see what goes on inside... The key is getting our young people and their parents to see this."</p><p>Blank, 57, became acting deputy secretary of commerce in 2012, replacing John Bryson, who resigned for medical reasons.</p><p>The Missouri native is a key member of President Obama's economic team working to implement the administration's top economic priorities to accelerate growth and job creation. She is in charge of management, policy and strategic planning for the department's 12 bureaus. </p><p>Blank joined the department in 2009 after she was appointed as the principal economic adviser to the Secretary in the role of Under Secretary for Economic Affairs and head of the Economics and Statistics Administration.</p><p>In 2008, she served as a Robert S. Kerr senior fellow for the Brookings Institute. Blank was dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2007.</p><p>From 1997 to 1999, she was part of a three-member council of economic advisers for President Bill Clinton. The council helped provide insight on a number of economic, social and regulatory policy issues.</p><p>Blank graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a degree in economics and earned her doctorate degree in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.</p><p>For more information, visit: www.commerce.gov.</p>